The skills associated with Welsh poetry - the composition of the fiendishly tricky verse metre known as cynghanedd, which means harmony - slid into abeyance after the Norman occupation and Henry VIII's Act of Union.

Poetic Obituaries: Dic Jones's mastery of cynghanedd, the uniquely Welsh verse form that uses sequenced patterns of alliteration and rhyme to embody and reinforce meaning, ensured that his poems, whether in epigrammatic, elegiac or comic vein, spoke with resonance to all, from the labourer in the field to the lecturer in the library.

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Oh! I'm glad you like it. I've heard there are criticisms of his scholarship (especially when it comes to some of the stuff in The White Goddess), but I grew up with his work, so there are still lines that get stuck in my head. My father likes to recite the bit about the "fearsome-faced" goddess of destiny who makes a "snarling noise" with her chops--to which I usually reply with a bit from the jackal's address to Isis. (I'm sure that's all very entertaining for everyone when we get together for the holidays.)